Pretty as a Pearl
by Lindous
Summary: Steven meant more than the world to Pearl. Rose's only son...she only wanted to protect him.
1. Chapter 1

Rose pedals gently glided and danced through the air before resting on a sea of grass. Sunlight gently teased Steven's skin as he held his sword ready, his eyes focused and determined.

Today was the day. A single beat of one large bass drum echoed through the field, and then another other, before the third and final beat signaled for the duel to begin.

Pearl smiled coyly, her eyes narrowed, as she lunged her wooden sword forward. Steven swerved sideways, making no move to strike.

"_He's getting better," _she thought, taking a step back with one foot before gracefully lunging once again. All Steven really knew was how to avoid forward attacking motions, and he was still having difficulty with balance.

"YEAH! Go Steven!" Amethyst called out excitedly.

"Yes," Garnet said with a large smile.

Steven grinned back at Garnet and Amethyst, and didn't notice as Pearl suddenly shot forward, and mock-cut at his stomach.

"Argh!" Steven yelled, dropping his sword and falling backwards. "You win."

Pearl gave her unique, 'I told you so' smile. "When your opponent is disarmed, that doesn't necessarily mean that they dropped their sword."

Steven nodded and mock sliced at the air before turning back to Pearl and bowing.

"Thank you for teaching me," he said respectfully.

Amethyst and Garnet joined them a moment later, walking up the hill toward the cherry blossom tree where Pearl and Steven had been dueling.

"Come on Steven! Bet you can't use that sword to knock down a flower!" Amethyst called, running in circles around the tree.

"I bet I can!" Steven called after her, running up and jumping at the tree branches.

"Hey! Steven-no-STEVEN! That's not a toy!" Pearl called after him and Amethyst.

"Aw lighten up, Pearl! There's no need to get all fussy!" Amethyst called back.

"Fussy...Fussy? I am not fussy!"

Garnet put a single hand on Pearl's shoulder.

"We have a mission," Garnet called out.

Amethyst and Steven both stopped what they were doing and ran back to Pearl and Garnet.

"What kind of mission?" Steven asked elatedly, bouncing up and down on his feet.

"A dangerous one," Pearl replied immediately.

Garnet shrugged. "I think you can come," she began, "If your up for it..."

Steven's eyes widened into stars. "Yes!" he practically screamed.

"Um...Garnet, are you sure that this is okay?" Pearl asked quietly.

Garnet nodded. "It doesn't seem too bad. Not too many enemies, and Steven has been getting better with his combat. His gem is also responding more lately."

"Alright," Pearl said nervously. "If it's what you think is best. But I'm taking one of my swords."

Garnet nodded. "We will leave to warp in 10 minutes. Everyone, grab what you need."

* * *

Pearl stepped inside the small lake within her room, reappearing at the top of her waterfall and summoning her sword collection to appear.

"This could be dangerous," she said to herself. "Hm...what to bring...what to bring..."

The swords continued to rotate around Pearl in a large circle while she scratched her head and thought.

"Hmmm...Of course!"

She made a graceful leap, not unlike a ballerina, to one edge of the sword circle, and picked up a blue scimitar.

"Perfect."

Pearl, while clutching the sword, submerged herself beneath the water before emerging by her temple door.

As she walked into the temple, she noticed that Garnet, Amethyst, and Steven were all waiting on the warp pad.

"There she is!" Amethyst said irritably. "Where have you been?"

"Just choosing the right weapon," Pearl said, eyes drawn into a small glare as she crossed her arms and looked away. She walked over and stepped onto the warp pad. "Let's just go already."

The warp pad erupted with light, and a moment later the gems appeared in a large, dark cavern. The roof stretched to at least fifty feet above Garnet's head, and the bottom was consumed by blackness.

"Huh," Amethyst said quietly. "Seems a little quiet, don't you think?"

Garnet shrugged. "There's a distress signal coming from down there. Let's go." She grabbed Steven's hand and leaped into the abyss, with Pearl and Amethyst hot on her heels.

Pearl's feet softly landed on the ground, while Amethyst landed a few feet away with a soft thud. Steven was in Garnet's arms when they landed, and she gently placed him down beside herself. Their vision was obscured by the darkness.

Garnet and Amethyst began to walk forward, their gems glowing slightly in the blackness, while Pearl and Steven tagged along from behind.

"I don't like this place," Steven said, sounding almost sick. "It feels like we are being watched."

There was a small _chink_ as Steven's foot kicked a small, glowing green object a few feet away. "What was that?" he asked nervously.

The gem that rested on Pearl's forehead began to project light, and she walked over to where the object that Steven kicked away had landed. Her face shifted to reveal a look of confusion as she lifted a small green gem, a Peridot, off of the ground.

"What is this?" she asked outloud, holding up the gem. A soft glow came from the gem, but it was quickly fading. After only a moment, it ceased all together.

Garnet took off her glasses, her eyes widening. "Peridot..." she whispered softly, her face in an expression of shock. Pearl and Amethyst both turned and stared at the gem in shock as well.

"What's happening?" Steven asked.

As suddenly as the gem's final glow went out, fire erupted in torched that were placed around the room, lighting up the entire cavern. A chorus of growls sounded just above the head of the gems as a swarm of beasts jumped out of the darkness and attacked. They were black in color, and their teeth glowed white.

"Beasts!" Garnet yelled. "Everyone, protect Steven!"

The gems formed a protective circle around Steven, fighting furiously and keeping the wolves at bay.

"_How did this happen? How did this situation just become so much worse? It was just an innocent cavern," _Pearl thought. As the wolves engaged them further, the protective circle began to break rank. Pearl was duel wielding her scimitar and spear, fighting first to protect Steven, and then eventually just to protect herself.

"There are so many of them!" Amethyst yelled.

"There's a warp pad over there! Let's go!" Garnet yelled, and the gems fought their way toward a small warp pad at the edge of the room.

"Yah! Agh!" Steven yelled dodging the attacks of the beasts. Pearl fought furiously, and slowly began to lose track of the direction she was fighting in.

The gems stepped onto the warp pad, Steven in tow, and Pearl still fighting her way through. She closed her eyes, making her way toward Steven and batting away beasts with her swords before she felt her scimitar sink into something soft, and felt heard a soft moan.

Pearl opened her eyes in shock, staring at what she had done, while the warp pad erupted with light and brought them back to the temple.

* * *

Not a second after they had reappeared at the temple, Steven dropped to his knees. Garnet's jaw dropped in shock, and Amethyst took a step back.

Pearl's blue scimitar had sunk about two inches deep into Steven's stomach.

There was a small puff of smoke, and all that remained on the ground was Pearl's sword, and a rose quartz.


	2. Chapter 2

**WHOOPS! sorry about the mix up. Here's the *real* chapter two. **

* * *

The scimitar clattered onto the ground, breaking the long silence. The spear Pearl held disappeared into oblivion.

Amethyst's face quickly twisted into a mask of righteous, protective anger as she formed a fist and punched Pearl, watching the gem fly onto a now-crushed coffee table located across the room.

Amethyst ran at where Pearl lay, continuing to attack, and suddenly felt a stinging tug at her hair that caused her to yell, and she noticed that her feet were no longer on the ground.

"Amethyst! Stop it!" Garnet commanded, and Amethyst stopped thrashing around as violently.

"I said, 'stop.'"

Amethyst went still, and Garnet watched as Amethyst's face moved back into an expression of shock as Pearl weakly began to sit up. There were small cuts across her face from shattered glass, but she didn't notice. She merely stared at the rose quartz across the room.

Garnet switched her grip so that she was holding Amethyst's shoulder, but still refused to put her down.

"Everyone just take a deep breath."

Both present gems did so, letting it out a bit too quickly. Garnet frowned, and then looked down at Amethyst.

"Have you calmed down yet?" she asked slowly, patiently.

Amethyst nodded slowly, looking at both her hands and then down at Pearl with an expression of confusion. Garnet released her grip, and Amethyst's feet hit the floor not a second later.

Pearl continued to stare blankly at the rose quartz on the warp pad before her eyes half-closed and she fell backwards, back onto the shattered remains of the table. One of her hands was still clenched into a misshapen fist.

"I killed him."

Both Amethyst and Garnet looked down at Pearl suddenly, noticing Pearl's wide-eyed expression for the first time.

"I killed him...I killed him...Greg's gonna kill me...I killed Rose's son...I might as well have killed Rose..." Her hands clutched the sides of her face in terror.

"She's in shock," Garnet said finally, bending down on one knee to lift Pearl's head off of the glass. Amethyst bent down beside the two gems, and then got up a moment later with Pearl in her arms.

"It's okay," Amethyst whispered softly. "He's not dead...he just retreated into his gem. Just like I do whenever I get hurt, right? It usually happens to me. This is a good thing. His gem is responding. You didn't kill him; this was already going to happen to him at some point in his life."

This seemed to coax Pearl into a slightly calmer state, but her eyes still remained wide open. Amethyst carried Pearl upstairs and gently rested her on top of Steven's bed.

Garnet walked into the kitchen, and came back upstairs with a glass of water a moment later. She held it up to Pearl's mouth, and half-forced her to drink. A few moment's later, Pearl finally blacked out from stress, her gem glowing faintly in order to help keep control of her brain chemistry while she was in this state of hysteria.

Garnet and Amethyst headed downstairs, Garnet walking back onto the warp pad and retrieving the rose quartz. There was a long pause in which neither of them spoke, and Garnet finally began to speak.

"Well this is quite a mess."

Amethyst didn't say anything.

"But at least he's learning how to heal up. That's not too bad," Garnet continued stoically.

Another long pause, and Amethyst finally spoke.

"Garnet, he's half-human. I don't know about any of this."

If there was an elephant in the room, then it landed on Garnet. Her jaw dropped open for a moment before she spoke again, this time her tone filled with slight anger.

"He shouldn't have even been stabbed...why did I let him come?!"

"Garnet, Pearl and I have both already had break-downs today. Now's not the time for you to have one too," Amethyst reasoned, a slight edge of anger in her voice as she held her arms raised. Had she not been panicking at the fact that Steven was injured and that the gems had no way of contacting him, then she would have been amazed at the fact that Garnet was even showing slight anger.

Garnet smacked her forehead, and forced herself to remain calm. "Right," she said finally, crossing one arm, and raising the rose quartz to her face to get a better look at it. "What ever happened to the peridot that Pearl picked up?"

Amethyst paused, and gasped. "I never saw it hit the ground, even after those beasts attacked. Do you think she still has it?"

Garnet shrugged, holding the quartz protectively in her hand. Amethyst jogged back upstairs, and looked down at where Pearl was still splayed out on Steven's bed. One of her fists was still tightly closed around something.

Amethyst quietly walked around to the other side of the bed before she gently began to pry open Pearl's hand. In the center of Pearl's now-open fist was a small, diamond-shaped peridot. There was a small mark where Pearl had held previously, as she had clutched it tightly enough that she drove the gem into her skin. Amethyst removed it and examined it closely, noting that it was darker than it had been when they were in the cavern.

"Found it," she called to Garnet softly, and walked back downstairs. From where Garnet held Steven's gem, Amethyst saw that it was glowing brilliantly in comparison to the peridot's now-cloudy, dull appearance.

"Then it is simple," Garnet said grimly, looking over at the peridot, and then back at the rose quartz. "He's alive. From the angle I was at, the wound wasn't too deep, so he should be back soon." She looked back over at the peridot.

Amethyst stared at the peridot she held, her gaze unmoving. "Another one down," she said quietly. "And soon we are all that's going to be left."

* * *

**Not so much Pearl in this chapter, although this is going to be a story centered more around her and her relationship with the other gems on her team. I figured Pearl should be my next big fic, since I had this great idea. Next time I might do Amethyst, and then finally Steven. **

**Thanks for the awesome reviews. **

**IMPORTANT: This is pretty heavy stuff. I'm actually going to change the rating up to T, whether or not that is ignored. =D**


	3. Chapter 3

The next time her eyes opened, she noticed that she was back in her room at the temple.

Pearl slowly lifted her head, feeling groggier than normal after recovering from injury, and looked around. She had been set down on the marble shelf between her door and the lake. Standing up, Pearl headed toward the door and walked back into the house.

Amethyst and Garnet both looked up when they heard Pearl's door open, and watched as she stepped back onto the wooden floor. Garnet still looked stoic, almost grim, while Amethyst gave Pearl an easy smile.

"Good morning!" Pearl said cheerfully.

"Hey! How are you feeling?" Amethyst asked, working hard to remain cheerful.

"I'm alright..." Pearl said slowly, her expression shifting into one of confusion. "Is something wrong?"

Amethyst's eyes slowly widened, her mouth opening to speak, but Garnet held up a hand and stopped her.

"When we returned from the mission, you went into shock."

Pearl stopped where she stood and began to think. She glanced around the room, noticing some of the wreckage that had been there from Amethyst's anger upon returning from the mission, and felt her blood run cold.

"Oh," she said softly, her eyes brimming with tears and her frame shuddering as she began gasping in pain. "Oh Steven..."

Garnet got to her feet quickly, placing a hand on Pearl's shoulder.

"Pearl, stop."

Pearl stopped gasping for air, but her shoulders remained tense.

"Yeah Pearl, it's not the end of the world, Steven will be just fine!" Amethyst said with a shrug.

"He...will?" Pearl said slowly, looking up.

"Yeah, his gem is still glowing. It'll be fine."

Garnet nodded, but continued to frown.

"Wait...but how long have I been asleep for?" Pearl asked slowly.

"About four days," Amethyst said. "You were really stressed out. After the first day, you retreated into your gem. We placed you in your room yesterday."

Pearl nodded slowly, and looked down at the floor.

Garnet looked over at the warp pad. "We have a mission," she said quietly.

Amethyst and Pearl both looked up in confusion.

"Right now?"

"Seriously?"

Garnet gave one solemn nod. There was a small pause before she finally said, "At Rose's temple."

Pearl visibly shuddered, taking a step back. "Um, Garnet, why do we need to go there?"

Garnet lifted a hand, and with a flash of red light, a small, darkened peridot appeared.

"This is why."

Pearl and Amethyst didn't say anything. They only stared at the gem, looking saddened.

"Garnet, I don't think I can take this mission," Pearl said quietly, looking at the peridot.

Garnet shook her head. "That's not an option. We need you for this if we are going to succeed."

"I wouldn't mind leaving her..." Amethyst muttered quietly.

"Let's warp," Garnet commanded. Pearl and Amethyst both looked up, and then turned toward Steven's bedroom. "He'll be fine. If he comes back, then he will know that we are out. And any way, I think that there is something at the temple that we need for him. But first we need to check Peridot's room."

Pearl locked eyes with Garnet for a moment, and finally nodded. "Alright..." Pearl said finally. "I'll do it."

Garnet watched Pearl's hesitation, but remained expressionless, her arms down be her sides. "Pearl," she said in almost the same way she addressed Steven when correcting him, "I'm sorry for you loss."

Amethyst's face shifted into an expression of surprise and recognition. "I forgot how long it has been since we have seen him."

Pearl nodded slowly, frowning. "He was one of the most powerful gems that I have ever met."

"Whoa..." Amethyst said quietly.

"Let's get going," Garnet said, and the three gems stepped onto the warp pad.

* * *

** I know it's a slow chapter (I haven't had much time to write with band camp and all) but I'm about to start something a bit more serious, and may even need to update the description of this fic. Inspiration hit...I love it when that happens!**


	4. Chapter 4

Sunsets were the best part of the day. There was so much color, and so much to look at.

As far as Pearl was concerned, humans took things like sunsets for granted. They waved off things that were so beautiful, and just moved on. When Pearl saw sunsets, she eventually realized that she was only seeing a glimpse of the beauty that was in the earth.

"Hey Pearl! Great job on the mission! That was so cool how you smashed that pillar...and then BAM! You took out those wolves like they were nothing!" Peridot said, jumping up and down excitedly.

Pearl smiled. "Thanks, Peridot. That's really quite kind of you."

Peridot was only about five and a half feet tall, just shorter than Pearl. He had short white hair, light green skin, and green gem located on the back of his head, just above his neck.

"It was alright, really, I think that your sword work could use some work." A third gem, a tall (about six and a half feet), burgundy-skinned man with wide shoulders and spiked black hair walked over.

Peridot grinned widely. "But Jasper, it was awesome! I mean, she moves so fluidly..."

Jasper sighed, rolling his eyes and frowning. "And yet I'm not amused. She was almost stabbed five different times."

"But she's fine!"

Pearl smiled softly. "It's okay, Peridot. He's right. There is always more to improve on."

Jasper raised his eyebrows. "We'll see how far you go."

Pearl sagged her shoulders, and just started on her way back to the temple. Peridot ran up beside her, extremely energetic, leaving Jasper back behind them.

"Hey! How long does Rose want you to be with us, anyway?" Peridot asked, but still smiled.

"Oh, it's been a few years," Pearl said simply. "She wasn't too specific, she just said that I should help you and Jasper until you guys found a new team member, after what happened to Zircon and all..."

Peridot shrugged. "There's practically no sign of any other gems out here. But don't let Jasper get to you. I honestly think that his gem should be on his ass, not his chest. I bet Rose will call you back soon. She only means the best. Remember when we all lived in that temple on the beach?"

Pearl smiled. "Yeah, I swear that your room was the strangest. Your taste is so...erratic." Despite Pearl's words, Peridot knew that she was still being friendly.

"Boy, and you have never seen my room at out current temple...Or else you would probably flip out. Or try to clean everything."

"There is nothing wrong with keeping everything neat," Pearl said cheerfully.

Peridot laughed. "Well, anyway, I'm sure Rose won't do you wrong." He was bright, cheerful, fun, and very relaxed. This was the first time that Pearl had gotten to partner up with Peridot, this arrangement being Rose's idea.

"Yeah...Yeah, your right. Thanks Peridot," Pearl said, visibly brightening as they walked into a gem temple that sat in the middle of a field. Jasper walked in a few moments later, wordlessly entering into his room.

* * *

"We have a mission," Jasper stated, pointing toward the warp pad. Peridot and Pearl wordlessly joined him as they warped into a large, dark cavern. The roof stretched at least fifty feet above Jasper's head, and the bottom of the cavern was consumed by blackness.

Peridot leaned over the edge of where the gems were standing, staring down into the darkness.

"Something's down there. Let's check it out."

Jasper nodded, and leapt downward with Pearl and Peridot at his heels.

Pearl looked around, her gem glowing slightly to provide some light. She felt a chill run through her. "What are we here for, Jasper?" she asked seriously.

Jasper pointed to the side of the cavern; there was a low growl that cut though the air, and black beasts began to jump out and attack.

"Jasper! What's happening?!" Peridot asked out loud, pulling a hooked sword out of his gem.

Jasper was knocked onto the ground a few feet away, being piled by beasts.

"No!" Peridot screamed, turning and beginning to try and yank the beasts off with his sword.

"Peridot! Don't get killed!" Pearl shouted.

"He's dead!" Peridot yelled, trying to fight his way back to Pearl. "We have to get out of here...He's dead..."

"Then let's go!" Pearl screamed, grabbing Peridot's hand and running toward the nearest warp pad.

* * *

Rose sighed. "I'm going to miss Jasper," she said quietly, looking saddened. Garnet nodded.

"Peridot decided to stay at the temple out on the plains. Thank you for calling me back, Rose," Pearl said quietly, trying to keep it together.

"Couldn't he come and live with us?" Garnet asked quietly, looking over at Rose.

Rose shook her head. "I can't make him do anything, and he's less likely to comply now that he has lost Jasper."

Pearl looked down at the floor. "He just lost his friend. He said that all he wanted to live alone. I think he's given up..."

Rose nodded. "Then it is probably for the best that we leave him alone for now. Let him heal." She paused for a moment before turning to Pearl. "How are you holding up?"

"I...I've never seen a gem die before."

"Don't blame yourself," Garnet said quietly. Every gem turned to face her. "There's something strange about his death. I'm not saying that there is anything wrong with him, but if we could ever get into the cavern, I would want to investigate."

"That's not possible," Pearl said, crossing her arms. "Those things could kill us to if we go back."

Rose nodded. "Then we will find a way, eventually, and at least recover the gem. Pearl, go and rest. You've been through a lot in the past week."

So Pearl went outside of the temple, and watched the sunset. They were definitely the best part of the day. So Pearl vowed to herself that if someone ever came along she wanted to protect as much as Peridot, than she would be sure to point this out to them.


	5. Chapter 5

"So, have you guys ever wondered what how big Steven's belly button has to be that his gem is there?" Amethyst asked offhandedly.

"Amethyst! You can't just go around talking about people's navels!" Pearl reprimanded.

"Ugh, you're hopeless. Have you never been curious?"

Garnet's expression never changed throughout the duration of this conversation. "Actually, I've wondered that since Rose was around. I mean, that is a weird place to have a gem," she said.

"See Pearl? What did I tell you?"

"Well, just because Garnet says..." Pearl began. Garnet raised a single hand, signaling to stop.

"Let's focus."

* * *

When the gems had warped, they had appeared on a warp pad just outside a large temple built in the shape of Rose, but this time she was holding a stone gem out toward the sky with both hands.

"It's been awhile," Garnet said quietly. Amethyst and Pearl nodded, staring at the temple. It was quite a bit larger than the one back at the beach.

"I don't think I have ever been in this one," Amethyst said, eyes widening and staring at the expansive temple in front of her.

"Yeah," Pearl said with an easy smile. "It's pretty great." She walked over toward the front entrance, drawing her spear out of her gem and tracing a small circle in the center of the door. The circle slowly lit up, followed by the sound of cogs twisting, until suddenly the sounds stopped and the door creaked open.

"Pearl," Garnet said. "You lead the way. You know this temple best."

"This place looks like it was deserted years ago," Pearl said, walking into the dark with her spear still drawn. Broken glass littered the floor, and furniture that had previously been placed around the room had been smashed.

"Why have a room like this connecting to all the rooms?" Amethyst asked. They were standing in the house part of the temple.

"Amethyst!" Pearl said, touched. "I'm glad you asked. Humans would come to us for held if they were lost out here. I mean, you saw how big these plains are. If we had found them being attacked by something, then we would bring them back here to heal up. Rose really thought of everything when she built this place."

Amethyst sagged her shoulders. "I didn't need that much of an explanation."

Garnet held up the Peridot gem. Pearl nodded and pointed eastward.

"That one is his door."

* * *

"I thought he would have become part of our team by now."

Garnet paused, looking over at Pearl. "He wanted to be alone at the moment."

They both were sitting at the top of stone Rose's hand at the temple in Beach City.

"I don't know why he wouldn't. He still has a room here, he should be traveling with us. After all, Rose's son could use a male figure to look up to..." Pearl began again.

"Pearl, relax a little bit. You're under a lot of strain. Peridot was upset to hear the news that Rose died a week ago. And besides, Steven has a father."

"But Garnet," Pearl began reasonably. "Wouldn't he be safer if you made him come live with us?"

"I can't make him do anything," Garnet said. "He's locked himself inside Rose's temple. In the last century he has lost both Jasper and Rose. Give him some time. I can't imagine how much worse it would be if I ever had to tell him that you had been killed."

"Wait, what?" Pearl said, blushing a slight tinge of blue.

Garnet broke her stoic demeanor to cross her arms and smile slightly. "You were his favorite," she asked, almost coyly, "And you never even noticed?"

Pearl blushed a darker shade of almost-indigo. "Well, I...He was a good friend and all," Pearl stammered.

"He was even more depressed when you left after Jasper died."

"Well..."

"Hey Pearl! Garnet! How do you take care of this baby thing? And..." Amethyst had climbed up to the top of the Rose statue, and paused when she saw Garnet speaking to Pearl. "Garnet, how did you get Pearl to turn that color?" Amethyst said, pointing at Pearl.

"I talked about Peridot."

Now Pearl was indigo.

"Wow, that's all it took? All this time?" Amethyst yelled excitedly.

"Would you guys quit it?!" Pearl snapped. A baby started crying from within the temple.

"Steven!" the gems yelled, and with great agility leapt off of the top of the temple and ran into the house.

After a few moments, the crying was finally quelled. Steven was in Pearl's arms as she frantically tried to keep him calm.

"How long are we going to have to do this?" Pearl asked, looking up for a moment.

"I don't know; it's a baby!" Amethyst said belligerently.

Garnet rested her head in her hand.

* * *

When the gems walked into Peridot's room, it was evident that that it had been seriously neglected for at least the last decade. The walls were a dull, greenish-gray color with torn tapestries hung upon them by mere threads.

"This room is huge," Amethyst said quietly. There were a few larger harps around the room, as well as a wall that was specially dedicated to weapons. Pearl glanced the wall of weapons up and down, and smiled.

"I remember a few of those," she said quietly. "Steven would love it here. We should bring him when we get the chance."

Amethyst smiled. "You realize what you just said, right?"

Pearl nodded calmly. "I know what I said."

"Good, then I'm going to go look at the rest of the temple," Amethyst shrugged, and headed off toward the door. "I always wanted to see what Jasper's room looked like!"

The Pearl and Garnet continued walking down the long green carpets that made up Peridot's floor.

"There's not much in here," Garnet said finally.

"It looks as though it has been looted," Pearl agreed.

"Um...guys...You have got to see this," Amethyst called out, sounding almost nervous if Pearl had heard her correctly. Both Garnet and Pearl hastily made their way back outside of Peridot's room, and saw Jasper's door open a few feet away.

"How did you get it to open?" Pearl asked, confused.

"It opened when I wanted to go inside."

Garnet nodded, and she and Pearl walked into the room.

"Amethyst, I don't understand what has you so worked up-...!" Pearl began, and stopped when she turned and stared at the inside of the room.

Jasper's room was plain, with white walls, and only small pedestals that stood around the room. Pedestals lined the walls, each topped with a different gemstone.

Garnet gasped at the sight, taking a defensive step backward.

"Oh my gosh," Pearl murmured quietly. "Sapphire...Zircon...Aquamarine...All of them..."


	6. Chapter 6

The rose quartz on Steven's bed began to glow, and a moment later, Steven opened his eyes for the first time in about a week. He bolted upright out of bed, lifting his shirt to look at his gem.

"Wow..." he said softly, and lowered his shirt. "Amethyst? Garnet? Pearl? I'm okay! I just fell asleep!" he called out. Steven slid off his bed, landing on his feet, and walked down the stairs. "Guys?" he called again.

Shrugging his shoulders, Steven headed toward the kitchen. "They must be on a mission," he reasoned to himself, pouring a glass of slightly old milk. "No reason to rest just yet..." he took a sip before spitting the milk out. "Gross...how long was I out for?"

* * *

Pearl walked into the center of the room, her gaze quickly shifting to all the different gemstones.

"There are so many of them," she said, horrified. "How did this happen?"

No tears. No shaking. Just shock. Pearl felt shock. She noticed after she walked into the room that there was a small plaque at each pedestal, dating the exact place and time that each crystal gem was terminated.

Pearl kept walking, slowly looking at each pedestal. At the end of the room, a small pedestal sat marked with the name "Peridot."

Pearl felt her knees hit the floor.

Garnet looked inside from the other side of the room. "This is..." she began, but fell at a loss for words.

Amethyst shook her head. "Unbelievable..." she finished quietly, back out of the room's entrance. She moved away from the door, back into the house part of the temple. "I can't look at this any more. Call me when you guys are ready to move on." She walked back toward Peridot's old room, and disappeared inside.

Both Pearl and Garnet drank in the sight of Jasper's room, looking around in horror.

"Pearl," Garnet commanded, "Come back here."

There was along pause, and Garnet felt something shove her all the way into the room from behind before the temple door sealed behind her.

"I really should have left that door shut. Although this is quite unexpected. The only gem I had seen since coming back was Peridot."

Garnet and Pearl's heads both snapped in the direction of a voice behind them. A tall man with light red skin and spiked dark hair. He turned away from the gems for a moment, and Pearl noticed a square cut out on the back of the man's shirt that revealed a red gem.

"Jasper..." Pearl said slowly, eyes brimming with tears and a small smile on her face. "You're alive..."

Jasper turned around. "It's nice to see you Pearl. Likewise, Garnet," Jasper said, frowning.

Pearl stood up and looked around. "What is this?" she asked slowly. Then Jasper smiled.

"Aren't they beautiful?" he asked. "The collection isn't complete, but that doesn't matter just yet. Will you hand over that peridot that you are holding?"

Pearl took a step back, almost bumping into Garnet.

Garnet spoke up. "Stop this foolishness, Jasper. What did you do to these gems?"

"The same thing I did to that one," Jasper said, pointing to the peridot in Pearl's hand. "Except I got to keep the others. Now hand it over to me."

Garnet shook her head.

"That distress signal..." Pearl said slowly, looking down at the peridot in her hand and then back up at Jasper in horror. "What did you do to him?"

Jasper shrugged. "He was one of the weakest gems I had ever seen," he said, calmly and cruelly. "You know how people normally try to put up a fight? He was even weaker than _them._"

"You're using your gem powers against humans? Jasper..." Pearl said, looking around once again.

"They are rather weak. And to think we would risk our lives for them? They didn't even know that we were there." Jasper drew a long, chain-bladed sword out of his gem. "So if we were to disappear, then would they realize that we were there? That we risked our lives for _them_?"

Garnet kept her gaze steady, and Pearl was trying her best not to be sick.

Jasper gestured around the room. "They didn't agree." He grasped his sword a bit more tightly, and leaped down at Garnet's side. He was just about her height. "Neither would Rose, but when she died, I didn't get to keep that one. What a treasure that would be..."

Garnet didn't move, but just stared straight ahead. Pearl stood limply beside her, with her own eyes watching Jasper carefully.

"Anyway, Peridot eventually spilled the fact that our Rose had had a son..."

Pearl turned back and stared down at the peridot in her hand, even as Jasper drew chain-blade sword above his head. "Steven," she said softly under her breath.

Garnet remained steady, refusing to look Jasper in the eye.

"We don't agree with what you are doing either," she said stoically, a frown tracing her face.

"That's too bad then."

The next moment passed in a flash. Garnet summoned her gauntlets as Jasper brought his sword down in Pearl's direction, effectively blocking his attack. Another swing knocked Jasper back a few feet (Garnet could have sworn that she hit him harder), and he began to rub his jaw.

"That did hurt," he said calmly. "You've been working on that since the last time we sparred, Garnet. What has it been...about a century and a half?"

Pearl looked up for a moment placing the Peridot in the folds of her tunic and drawing her spear out of her gem. "Don't you touch her," she commanded, stepping in front of Garnet.

"Garnet! Pearl! Come on!" There was a loud 'crack' as the door to Jasper's room flung open suddenly, and Amethyst beckoned to the other two gems of her team. Her whip was ready in her hand.

Garnet grabbed one of Pearl's shoulder's and agilely raced out of the room, grabbing Amethyst with her other arm as she excited the temple.

"Garnet! Stop! We can do this!" Pearl cried, struggling to be free of Garnet's grip.

"No," Garnet said calmly as her feet hit the warp pad. "He's too strong for us at the moment. Don't risk a battle that you can't win."

The warp pad erupted with light, and the gems were gone a moment later.

Jasper stared down at the warp pad and looked back toward his door.

"They'll be back soon," he reassured himself quietly. "They wouldn't risk being hunted down. But first, to find that rose quartz..."

* * *

**Hey guys! Thanks for the awesome reviews, they are very encouraging =)**

**For the record, I feel the need to post that I do not agree with the GarnetxPearl shipping. I felt a need to bring this up because when I look at the writing, it would almost seem like I do, and that just didn't feel right. =)**

**Thanks for all the support to this story! =D**


	7. Chapter 7

There was a bright flash of light as the gems descended upon the warp pad in the temple, and then suddenly fell to it's outside edges, Amethyst and Pearl still in Garnet's arms.

"They're back!" Steven yelled, running downstairs and jumping onto the gem pile.

"STEVEN!" Pearl was first to yell, slipping out of Garnet's arm and pulling him close. "I'm so sorry...I should have never let that happen...I can't carry that scimitar anymore...Steven, I'm so sorry..."

"Pearl! It's so good to see you!" Steven yelled, bouncing where he stood. "I just disappeared suddenly, and when I came back, you guys were gone. What happened?"

All three gems stood up, each looking at Steven with sad confusion. Pearl looked away from Steven for a moment.

"When we were in the temple, I...You were injured."

Steven didn't speak, but looked confused.

"You retreated into your gem for about a week, and it looks as though you came back when we were gone," Garnet stated plainly. Steven nodded knowingly.

"That would explain why the milk was old," he said.

Pearl took a deep breath, and began to speak again.

"We just came back from a mission, Steven. We need you to stay inside the Crystal Temple at all times," Pearl commanded, looking Steven up and down.

"What? But I just told Connie that I was going to go get pizza with her..." Steven began, but Garnet shook her head.

"It's important that you stay inside. You would be helping us with our mission," Garnet said with a smile. "This is very important."

Steven's eyes brightened and he nodded. "I'll go call Connie!" he yelled excitedly as he ran upstairs.

Amethyst sighed. "When are we going to tell him?"

Pearl looked over at Amethyst, her shoulder's sagging. "What are we going to tell him?" They both looked up at Garnet.

"It can wait for awhile, but if we are going to keep him safe, then we can't keep him ignorant," Garnet said calmly.

_"But then Peridot had spilled that our Rose had had a son..."_

Pearl shuddered, and pulled the peridot out of the folds of her tunic, and holding up for the other two gems to see.

"If he doesn't come for the rose quartz, then he will come for this first," Pearl said, trying to keep her voice steady. "Peridot...he ensured that..."

"Then we will be ready," Amethyst said finally, and Garnet gave a firm nod.

* * *

"You still won't say anything?" Jasper asked. Peridot kept his face down, staring at the floor. His knees rested on the floor under him, but his arms were chained to the wall.

"Nothing?" Jasper continued. Peridot looked up just enough to spit in Jasper's direction.

"I have nothing to say to you."

"That doesn't matter. I was only taking last requests, anyway," Jasper said.

"It's about time," Peridot shot back. "I take it that you finally found the information that you wanted?"

"Yes. Not only are they all at that old temple Rose built...she has a son," Jasper said with a smile.

Peridot looked up in shock. "How did you...?"

"I found them."

Peridot shuddered. "You locked me in here for all these years, and made me send Pearl back, just so that you can kill them now?"

Jasper shrugged. "I needed to create a collection first. They might as well not be able to signal for reinforcements."

"Then why keep me alive?" Peridot asked, looking up.

Jasper grinned. "Because I needed the right bait." He drew his chain-bladed sword out of his gem, and knocked Peridot out with the hilt of his sword. Unchaining the gem from the wall and lifting him off the ground, Jasper began to walk to the warp pad just outside the plains' temple, and warped into the temple of his own design.

Jasper's temple was dark, with multiple levels. He stood on the top level with Peridot over his shoulder. The roof above him was at least fifty feet over his head, and obscured in darkness. The lower levels were hidden from view by the blackness, but low growling erupted from below Jasper and Peridot.

Peridot lifted his head up slightly as Jasper placed the gem by his feet. "You can't...You can't do this..." he said groggily, trying to clear the fog from his mind after having been hit with the hilt of Jasper's sword.

Jasper leaned down, delicately tracing his sword across Peridot's forehead, and watching the cut that the sword created begin to bleed slowly. "I believe I already have," Jasper sighed, picking up Peridot by his shoulder and hurdling him into the darkness below.

And without even meaning to, Peridot sent out a distress signal.

* * *

"That's it Steven! Thrust!" Garnet shouted. She had taken to help Steven with more defense training upon Pearl's refusal.

Pearl and Amethyst were in the temple, looking at the supplies they had.

"Okay, so we have Rose's cannon...we don't have my replicator wand any more..."

"Pearl...are you okay?" Amethyst asked.

Pearl stopped speaking for a moment, and turned toward Amethyst. "Why would you think otherwise?"

"Because you don't even seem as happy that Steven came back. I mean, you seemed initially happy, but after that...That moment where you didn't tell him everything that happened. You haven't let it go yet," Amethyst said, shaking her head.

"I can't," Pearl choked. "I can't tell him that I almost killed him."

"You didn't almost kill him at all. Would you rather that he think that you're perfect? Even when he makes a mistake like this later and refuses to forgive himself for not living up to this image you are creating? He's not going to turn against you if you tell him."

Pearl stared at the peridot in her hand. "I just can't."

Amethyst shook her head. "Fine then. But your going to end up hurting him more the longer you wait to tell him."

"I know," Pearl said.

* * *

"Take a deep breath, and try again," Garnet said, pointing her hands outward. Her gems began to glow, and gauntlets appeared on her hands.

"Alright, come on gem," Steven said, taking a deep breath and lifting his shirt. The gem flickered light for a moment, and as Steven's face twisted with effort, it went dull. Steven let go of his breath. "This is hard..." he murmured, clutching his head.

Garnet smiled, leaning over and tilting his chin upward. "It's okay. Let's take a break."

* * *

Jasper's eyes shot open. He had only seen a flicker.

"There you are," he murmured to himself, smiling. He held the Zircon gem in his hand, and had been examining it before he thought he a flash of pinkish light. "The rose quartz...that's an unusual amount of energy coming out of it."

Jasper put the Zircon down, closing his eyes and rubbing his temples for a moment. "Beach City, same as before," he murmured, and opened his eyes. "So they haven't left with him. And they still have the other gem. Better now than ever." Jasper stood up, took one last look at his gem collection, and began to walk back toward the warp pad outside of the temple.

* * *

**Sorry about the chapter being taken down and reposted. The site wasn't responding aside from adding the chapter. It might just have been for my system, so I apologize for the inconvenience.**

**The one other thing I need to bring up: I never really planned on Peridot becoming as big a deal as he did. Is anyone opposed to one more flashback? or would that be getting excessive?**

**Plus, your random fact of the day: Peridot is actually pronounced 'pear-a-doe'**


	8. Chapter 8

**Okay, now I'm really happy. I know the premise that I'm going to write my Amethyst story on, but I still need to think more about the plot line. This is gonna be great!**

**Thanks to everyone who has supported the story so far. It has been having strange trouble in updating, as I noticed that the automated emailing is late and that the fic is not bumped to the top of the archive, but this could only be for my system. For some reason, the story adds the chapters but doesn't realize it is being updated.**

**Has this ever happened to anyone else? =)**

* * *

There were several low growls as the warp pad on the lowest floor of Jasper's temple was activated. Several beasts turned and looked toward the bright flash of light that erupted from the warp pad, and noticed Jasper standing on top of it only a few seconds later. Many of the beasts turned and began to bare their teeth, advancing toward the warp pad slowly before Jasper pulled out a small, blue whistle.

The growls turned into shrieks and howls as the whistle emitted a shrill sound, and the beasts turned their heads downward and shuddered. Jasper slowly drew the whistle out of his mouth. He stepped off of the warp pad and pointed toward it. The beasts hesitated.

"Go on," Jasper said, raising the whistle to his lips.

Without any more needed warning, the hundreds of beasts that were within the cavern moved into the light of the warp pad, and there were several bright flashes of light.

* * *

"Hey Pearl, what was that mission that you and Garnet and Amethyst were talking about?" Steven asked. He and Pearl were standing in her room at the temple. Pearl turned around to face Steven.

"_Better to do this now...Amethyst is right," _Pearl thought.

"Steven, the reason we can't have you leaving the temple is because you're in danger."

Steven looked up, almost a bit too calmly. "What do you mean?"

Pearl began to look panicked. "There's something that I didn't tell you about what happened before, when you retreated into your gem, Steven. You were regenerating because when we were back at the temple, just as we were about to warp out, I stabbed you."

Steven's eyes widened, and he frowned. "What do you mean?"

Pearl shook her head. "It's my own fault. I'm sorry."

Steven actually smiled. "It's okay, Pearl," he said quietly, but glanced toward the door. "I'm going to go think for a little while."

Pearl watched Steven turn away from her and begin to walk back toward the house part of the temple. She took in a deep breath, and spoke again. "Steven, wait. When we were out a few days ago, we went to one of the older temple that your mother built and found out that there is someone out killing-"

A low laughter erupted from the house part of the temple. Pearl looked past Steven and at her door, her eyebrows raised and jaw open.

"What's happening?" Steven asked nervously, turning back to Pearl. "What were you trying to say?"

Pearl took another deep breath, grabbing Steven's hand and running toward the door. "Stay by me," she breathed, and the door opened.

* * *

Jasper sat at the top of the stairs with his arms crossed, and looking very satisfied with himself. Garnet and Amethyst both looked up at him from the bottom floor, weapons ready. The room looked empty except for them, and was perfectly silent until they heard Pearl's door open.

Pearl ran into the house, glancing up at Jasper for a moment and drawing her spear out of her gem. Steven's hand was gently clasped her own as she moved into a protective stance in front of him.

"What are you doing here?" Pearl demanded quietly, looking up at the enemy gem. "Get out. You're not welcome."

Jasper grinned back. "You might want to drop your weapon," he teased back A chorus of low growls cut the air from around the room. Pearl lowered her spear slowly, her eyes darting toward the warp pad. She noticed the blue scimitar still sitting in the place it had been dropped after it had stabbed Steven. She shared a look with Amethyst, and watched as the other gem quietly picked it up.

Pearl locked eyes with Garnet, and then again with Amethyst, and received a nod from each of them. They were ready. While Jasper's eyes wandered around the room, Pearl began to edge toward the door, Amethyst moving likewise. Garnet remained planted where she stood.

Pearl looked back toward Garnet. For the first time in awhile, Garnet smiled. "Now's your best shot," she said out loud, and Jasper looked down at the gems that inched toward the door. He pulled out a small whistle, and blew hard. The sound that came out of it was piercing, but the growling became louder. He pointed across the room at where Steven and Pearl were standing.

"Fetch," Jasper commanded, and watched with satisfaction as several beasts that were hiding throughout the room jumped out and charged the gems.

Garnet, ready with her gauntlets, stepped in front of her other three team members, beating the beasts back. "Get going!" she yelled over the fighting. "Now's your best chance to get him to safety!"

Amethyst and Pearl made a mad dash for the door with Steven in tow as Garnet continued to beat the beasts back. Amethyst thrust the blue scimitar that she picked up into Steven's open hand.

What Pearl didn't expect when she walked outside of the temple was to be met with hundreds more of the beasts, so many that there was hardly a hint of white sand if one were to look at the beach from a skyward angle. In retrospect, Pearl realized that if they bore any resemblance to a creature that the humans would recognize, than it would have been wolves. They looked different in broad daylight than when they had in Jasper's cavern. Their fur was pitch black, and long, misshapen talons grew out of their large paws. There jaws were humongous, and remained stuck open so that their teeth were always bared.

Pearl took off running, lifting Steven off the ground so that she was fully carrying him. Amethyst matched Pearl for stride, turning back once to see some of the monster's flooding into the rest of the house, and knowing that by now Garnet had probably been engulfed in black fur. Fighting the urge to turn back and fight, Amethyst finally saw that the beasts were catching up to them quickly.

"Keep running!" Amethyst shouted over the roar of pounding feet, turning around with her whip in her hand. "I've got this!" Several beasts lunged for her. Pearl stopped running long enough to look back and know that she could do nothing. A half-second glance at Steven told her to keep running.

Adrenaline surged through Pearl as she ran up the hill. Steven still had her scimitar in his hand and was clutching his head in terror.

"It's going to be okay, they're okay Steven, it's all going to be fine..." Pearl kept reassuring him as she ran. She, Garnet, and Amethyst had already discussed the possibility of what would happen if Jasper had come before they were completely ready. Pearl was reasoned to be the best choice to raise Steven into adulthood if the other two gems didn't make it out.

So Pearl kept running. She ran up the hill that housed the temple. She ran until she felt the stone that made up Rose's statue beneath her feet. And she ran until she found herself on Stone Rose's hand, where she found that she had nowhere else to run to.

None of the beasts had followed Pearl onto the statue. After several minutes of gasping for breath, Pearl finally placed Steven on his feet beside her. Not even a moment later, the beasts had parted so that Jasper could walk past them and onto the statue, joining Pearl on the hand where she stood.

While Pearl looked rugged, covered in cuts and her hair out of place, Jasper still looked relatively neat. He slowly approached Steven, saying nothing, before forming a fist and knocking the boy a few feet away, watching as the scimitar Steven held clattered as it hit the stone. Steven slid to the edge of the stone hand, defeated.

Pearl turned back to Jasper in horror, drawing her spear and taking another step forward.

"Don't you touch him." Her command was sharp, crisp, and her eyes burned with anger and determination.

Jasper grinned deviously, and drew his sword out of his gem. He swung it sideways at Pearl, watching as she skillfully blocked him. He kept swinging, blow after blow, as Pearl leaped and swirled gracefully, evading each of his attacks.

"Pearl! Look out!" Steven shouted, watching Jasper and her fight. Pearl turned toward Steven for only a second, and Jasper took the opening. Pearl felt a searing pain in her shoulder as the chain-bladed sword cut into it, and she dropped to her knees.

Jasper raised his sword above his head.

"This was easier than I expected. You've gotten better, Pearl, but not as much I had imagined."

Pearl clutched her shoulder, her face down. "I'm sorry Steven, Garnet, Amethyst..."

* * *

**Of all the parts of the this story, I believe the next part is probably my favorite. That, and the very final chapter. But I can't tell you what that is going to be like just yet...=) thanks for all the wonderful support for this story. The system is having trouble showing me updates, but I still have lots of views. Thank you all so much...=D**


	9. Chapter 9

"I wasn't strong enough."

Peridot glanced up at Pearl from where she was sitting. "You got me out of there. There really wasn't more that any of us could have done than that."

"But why did it have to end this way?" Pearl asked. Peridot shook his head.

"It's alright, Pearl. Everything is going to be fine. And Rose called you back, didn't she? You get to be with your team again..." Peridot was desparately trying to look hopeful. Every now and then, he glance at the door to see if he was being watched.

Pearl only sighed and shook her head in response. Peridot smiled.

"Wait here for a second."

Peridot disappeared into his temple room, and reappeared several moments later with a curved sword balanced between his arms, covered by a brown leather case.

"Take this," Peridot offered with a smile. "I know you would enjoy it a lot more than I did. And I have plenty more...Besides, didn't Jasper say that you needed to work on your duel wielding?"

Pearl slowly took the word out of Peridot's hands, unsheathing it for a moment and holding it up to the light.

"It's beautiful," Pearl gasped. Her stayed on the blue scimitar that she was holding up. "Why didn't I ever see you use this one?"

Peridot shrugged. "Whenever I found it necessary to use, Jasper advised against it, saying that it was bit too different from my gem weapon to use often."

Pearl sighed. "I know he was your best friend, and I know that I may be out of place in saying this, but I didn't think that he was much of a leader."

"He was my best friend, practically my brother, but in terms of leadership, I'd take Rose any day," Peridot said simply, and maintained his smile. "You're lucky you get to go back. I want to join you guys soon...But I need to take care of some things here first."

"Alright then, Peridot, I'll see you soon." Pearl began to walk out of the temple, and turned back. "Thank you for the sword."

The warp pad erupted with light, and Pearl was gone. Peridot kept staring at the warp pad.

"_What's to stop me from leaving now?" _he thought, and made a dash for the warp pad.

The door of the temple slammed shut in front of him, and Jasper's door opened.

"No," he said quietly to Peridot, and smiled deviously. "I still need you _here."_

* * *

"I wasn't strong enough," Pearl said. As Jasper raised his sword over his head, Pearl glanced sideways to see Steven struggle to his feet.

"Run," she breathed, squeezing her eyes shut as Jasper brought his sword down toward her head.

Pearl kept her eyes shut, but the sensation of dying never came. She felt not rippling pain come to any part of her, aside scrapes obtained in her run with Steven.

Instead she thought she heard a very light gasp, and the sound of splitting flesh. Slowly, Pearl opened her eyes and looked up at Jasper. His sword was inches from her head, but frozen in its flight. Ducking away from the sword, Pearl looked up to see the tip of a blue sword poking out from beneath Jasper's ribs.

Jasper dropped his chain-bladed sword onto the ground. Nobody noticed as it disappeared into oblivion.

Glancing past Jasper for a moment, Pearl could see Steven, with both hands on the hilt of the blue scimitar that had been thrust through the other gem.

Jasper's face remained a mask of pain and confusion. He glanced behind himself to see Steven, and then looked back down at Pearl.

"My collection," Jasper said at last, "It is complete."

In a puff of smoke, Jasper disappeared into the gem that was on his back. It continued to glow.

Struggling to her feet, Pearl kept her eyes locked on the gemstone that held her former companion. Drawing her spear out of her gem, she walked slowly to where it was in front of her.

And in one fluid and decisive motion, Pearl brought her spear down, and watched the jasper stone shatter into pieces. The beasts disappeared from sight.

* * *

**Special thanks to Spacewonder for quoting SU back at me =)**


	10. Chapter 10

"Pearl! Steven!" Amethyst yelled, running up the hill. "Are you guys alright?"

Pearl said nothing. She simply stared at the gem shards, her eyes not registering what was happening around her. Steven was almost beside himself for what he had done by stabbing Jasper, and Amethyst was frantically trying to calm him down.

"I can't believe it! I stabbed him. Amethyst, stop...I can't do this!" Steven was yelling. Amethyst finally hauled Steven over one of her shoulders, and turned around to look at Pearl. Pearl glanced upward, trying to get onto her feet, and fell over.

Amethyst knowingly helped Pearl up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders in order to help her walk down the hill. As the three gems began their descent, they simply walked past the wreckage and torn chunks of earth that littered the hillside and beach. For once, Pearl didn't worry about the structural damage of their home. She was just happy to have come out alive.

* * *

Garnet held up a small pouch of gem shards, and shook it softly.

"These should do. It was all I could collect."

Amethyst nodded. They were standing in the house part of the temple, near the repaired warp pad. The original had been crushed by Jasper's wolves. Amethyst and Pearl had returned to the house with Steven after Jasper's death to find that Garnet had been damaged, but also that the beasts had disappeared before she was forced to retreat into her gems. After a few days, Garnet walked to the top of the Rose Statue and collected the remains of the Jasper stone.

"Are you sure this will work?" Amethyst asked.

Garnet shrugged. "I don't know. It's a thing in ancient texts, that when one gem takes another's life..."

"But he took tons of lives. And everyone else's gems are still intact."

Garnet could only shake her head. "How are Steven and Pearl?"

Amethyst bit into her lower lip. "Steven will be alright," she said finally, glancing upstairs at Steven's destroyed room. "He's been pretty upset since Jasper died. I really hope that this works." Amethyst paused for a moment. "Pearl hasn't come out of her room at all. Her door won't even open for me any more."

"I guess that that is to be expected. She was happy to see him alive, save for the fact that he was a gem killer," Garnet said. She looked up toward Steven's room.

"I wish Rose were here."

"She'd know what to say," Amethyst said finally, and said no more.

* * *

Pearl sat near the bottom of her small lake, away from the waterfall. Being a gem, she didn't need to breath; she hadn't come out of the water since entering her room a few days earlier. It swirled and ruffled her hair, but she kept her eyes closed.

After several long moments, Pearl half-opened her eyes, and swam to the surface of the water. Ungracefully climbing to the pool's edge, she dragged herself onto the marble floor near her door. Standing up, Pearl glanced down at her hand, lifting it to eye level and opening it enough to see a small green peridot that she had clasped so hard that it dug into her hand. She sighed, taking one last, long look at the gem before she threw it into the water and watched it sink, deeper and deeper, until it finally disappeared.

Giving herself a firm nod, Pearl turned around and opened her door to the temple, choosing not to look back.

* * *

"Hey Steven?" Pearl delicately walked up the stairs to see Steven face down on his bed, and unmoving. He said nothing.

For once, Pearl did her best not to immediately console him. Instead, she chose to sit down next to the top of the stairs, and let her feet hang down off of the upper floor.

After about twenty minutes of waiting, Steven broke the silence.

"Pearl, I don't feel like myself," Steven said, looking up from his bed. His eyes were red, and he no longer wore his usual smile.

"What do you feel like?" Pearl asked, making an invisible effort restrain herself from saying anymore.

"Weak," Steven said. "I don't feel like singing or anything. I just feel sad."

Pearl gave Steven a soft smile. "You saved my life," she said quietly, bringing her knees up to her shoulders.

Steven's face changed, and a small smile appeared. "I guess I did."

"You completed the most dangerous part of the mission. And...you avenged all of the gems that he killed."

"Wait, that guy was a gem killer?!" Steven asked, unabashed. Pearl's eyes widened, but her smile remained and she nodded.

"Before he was a gem killer, he was my teammate."

"Woah..." Steven said, eyes brightening. "And what do you mean the most important part of the mission?"

"Garnet said that the mission isn't quite done yet. She was planning on sending just the two of us out to the plains' temple-the one that your mother built-in order to take care of a few things."

Steven grinned. "Let's go! I'm ready when you are!"

Pearl looked down, and then glanced back up at Steven. "I'm still really sorry about what happened at the temple in our last mission," she said.

Steven shrugged. "It's okay, Pearl. I forgive you. I'm honestly happier that I got hurt than you did...That's why I stabbed Jasper."

Tears came to her eyes. "I never meant for you to feel the need to protect me," Pearl gasped, and hugged him.

* * *

They appeared on the warp pad outside the plains' temple just as the sun was setting.

"Woah, this place is huge!" Steven said excitedly, staring up at the expansive structure in front of him. The temple was shaped like a gentle whale, and appeared as though it was resting on a sea of grass.

Pearl nodded in appreciation, and beckoned for Steven to follow. She held the pouch of jasper stone shards in one hand, and opened the door to the house part of the temple with the other.

The inside of the temple was still full of destroyed furniture, and looked as though it had not seen light in decades. Pearl pointed toward Jasper's door, and held up the bag of gem shards.

"Garnet reminded me that ancient texts spoke of how gems were at war with each other. When one gem took another's life, it would gain it's strength."

"Wow," Steven said. "So that's why he was so strong? But how many gems..."

Pearl shrugged, and handed him the pouch. "That's what we are here to find out."

They walked through Jasper's door, and once again, Pearl felt herself grow weak at the sight of the pedestals.

"Pearl? What do I...?" Steven began, but watched as the bag of shards began to light up. The pouch tore open, and the shards hovered in front of Steven for a moment. His gem began to glow.

Pearl glanced over at the shards, and back at Steven. "It's offering you strength. Of Jasper, and of all the gems he had slain."

Steven's eyes widened as they searched the shards. "But what if I don't want it?" he said, looking back at Pearl. "What about being strong in the real way?"

Pearl felt herself smile. "That's the real reason we are here." She gestured to all the gems on pedestals. "Tell the shards no. And watch. I've never seen what happens after that point, but I read up on what is supposed to occur."

Steven looked at the shards, and finally shook his head. Each shard began to glow a deeper red, before finally shooting off in various directions like fireworks. Pearl smiled with pride as she watched the shards of the jasper stone strike many of the gems throughout the room, and each gem that was hit with a shard erupted with light.

After several flashes of blinding light, people appeared in each of the places where the gems once stood.

"Woah," Steven exclaimed again. "What are they? What happened to the gems?"

Pearl beamed in pride at Steven. "They're human," she said.

* * *

**ONE MORE CHAPTER =D**


	11. Chapter 11

**Epilogue: His Last Request**

"Garnet, over here! Let's clear up some more!" Amethyst called. She cleared away some of the broken furniture, throwing it outside of the house. The gems were standing in the plains' temple.

Pearl had told the humans that they were now in charge of the plains' temple; there was plenty of room for the twenty or so former gems that Jasper had killed, and this way, if anyone else ever passed through the plains, then there would be an outpost to help travelers. The people looked almost the same way they had when they were gems, with a few small changes. They had no recollection of having existed as gems. And the gems chose to come and fix up the temple so that it was habitable.

"Lemonade!" Steven called, passing glasses around to the people, and then one to Pearl. Pearl smiled back, and nodded.

"Thanks Steven," she said, taking a sip and setting the glass down. Her gaze drifted back toward Peridot's door, and Amethyst and Garnet turned to watch as Pearl took a few tentative steps toward the door before it opened for her, and she drifted inside.

"Should we go after her? Who's room is that?" Steven asked curiously, pointing after Pearl.

"It's alright Steven; she'll come out eventually," Garnet said.

"Yeah, and even if she doesn't, we'll always be able to say that we tried," Amethyst shrugged, and grinned as Steven smiled at her joke.

The gems stared as the door closed after Pearl, and then turned back to their work in cleaning the house.

* * *

Pearl slowly walked through Peridot's room. Slowly it dawned on her that she and the other gems forgot the reason that they had visited the dead gem's room the first time.

"_I think that there is something there for Steven..." _Garnet had said. Pearl's eyes widened. _  
_

"Of course," she said quietly, and quickly began to look among the instruments on the ground. "Right before Rose died," she murmured to herself, and kept searching frantically.

Pearl lifted up a small, white orb, which fit into the palm of her hand. She stopped for a moment, staring at the bluish-white orb with intrigue. Poking it with one finger, she watched as the orb lit out a small flash of light, and a recorded voice began to play.

* * *

"Hey Steven!" Pearl called out.

Steven, Amethyst and Garnet had just finished passing out food, and now themselves were taking a break. Pearl walked over, smiling to Garnet, and showing her a small necklace. On a silver chain was a small hourglass of pink sand.

"That's it," Garnet said with a nod. "Good work in finding it."

"Cool!" Steven said, grinning. "Where did this come from?"

"One of the gems that died; Rose gave it to him awhile back before you were born. When we first came here, while you were regenerating, this is what we thought we would find," Garnet said.

Amethyst grinned. "Just like him to keep it all these years and say nothing. It's kinda sad that he was too depressed to ever leave the temple. He could have come with us."

"But he didn't," Pearl said softly. "And something tells me that it wasn't depression."

Garnet glanced over at Pearl. "What do you mean?"

Pearl looked Garnet in the eye. "It's nothing too important, I promise."

* * *

"Pearl, this is beautiful. You were right," Steven said. "I never really stopped and looked at sunsets for awhile." He turned toward Pearl.

Pearl nodded. "See? I told you. You can always stop and enjoy things like this. What did I teach you about sword play? To watch?"

Steven laughed, and grinned. "Hey Pearl?"

"Yes Steven?"

"Why was it that you like sunsets so much?"

"Because their beautiful, and the sunlight becomes more gentle, and they make me realize that there is much more to this existence than what I thought for at least the first century that I was alive. I realized that there was more to live for, and that I had not realized my full purpose in protecting the humans."

Steven nodded, hanging off of every word. "That must have been hard before you realized that."

Pearl smiled. "It got a lot better afterward, though. Look at the colors; I like that such simple things can be so beautiful. That's something I learned from your mother. And I promised myself that I'd teach this to someone I care about."

"Hey, Pearl?"

"Yes, Steven?"

"Thank you for being like a mother to me."

* * *

**The recording left for Pearl:**

"Hey Pearl? Remember the day that I decided to give you my favorite sword? That's the day I chose to record this. I saw you only a moment ago, but then I went into my room to get you something. I'm sorry for returning so late with the sword, but I had to record this. You're about to return to Rose and her team again, and I know that you will be happy there.

"I want to thank you for always trying to help me since we lost Zircon. I found out that Jasper is alive, but that he didn't want either of us to realize that he was. I walked into his room one time to see that he was around, and then I was almost killed. The next thing I did was send you away, which I'm doing right now. I'm sorry about this; I wanted you safe. But first I need to tell you something.

"I know that Jasper made an effort to kill by the time you hear this. You mentioned once, when I brought it up, that he was like a brother not just to me, but to both of us. Remember him as he was when he was not corrupt. Remember to forgive him because we loved him, and we wanted better for him.

"One of the things that instantly fascinated me was that Rose was once your mentor, just like how she was mine. I'm grateful that she sent you here. Now that I know that I may never leave this temple again, I want you to give the hourglass back to her after I die. She sent it to me just after we thought Jasper was dead, right before you officially left our team.

"And Pearl? There's one more thing I want you to know. Call it a last request, I guess. I've been alive for centuries, and I've only known you for years, but some of my most precious memories are from being with you. Before I die, I want you to know that I loved you, and that I need you to stay strong, okay? You remind me a lot of Rose. Be strong, Pearl. I know you are.

Love always,

Peridot."

* * *

**This one was actually really fun to right. I've got a lot of good ideas for my next story (I'm thinking either Rose or Amethyst centric (which is great because Rose would be in my Amethyst story) ) but first I've got to get some things together. I'm starting school this Monday, and boy is that going to make finding free time fun. **

**Heh heh, alliteration =)**

**But seriously, Thank you all for the wonderful support and encouragement on this story. I'm really glad that it was so well received, especially when I almost lost control of the material after chapter 3 =D **

**May God bless you and keep you all,**

**Lindous =)**


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